


glistering grief and golden sorrow

by thepsychicclam



Category: Wives of Henry VIII RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:07:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28145853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thepsychicclam/pseuds/thepsychicclam
Summary: Harry Tudor is one of the most powerful and richest men in England. For each of the women who marry him, power, money, and success seems like everything. But marrying Harry comes with a price.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 53
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	glistering grief and golden sorrow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thinlizzy2](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thinlizzy2/gifts).



> _‘Tis better to be lowly born,  
>  And range with humble livers in content,  
> Than to be perked up in a glist’ring grief,  
> And wear a golden sorrow._  
> Anne (Act 2, Scene 3)  
> Shakespeare - _Henry VIII_
> 
> Happy Yuletide!!! I actually matched with you on The Golden Girls, and as I'm obsessed with the Golden Girls and watch it every single day, I thought it would be easy. I was wrong. But I also am a huge wives of Henry VIII fan, and I just finished teaching an upper level English major Renaissance literature course (sadly, not a lot about the wives other than some bg when discussing the golden age of Elizabethan theater), so I couldn't get that prompt out of my head. I wanted to do something set historically, but was afraid I'd just rip off Philipa Gregory novels and the tv shows like _The Spanish Princess_. So, I went with your modern day AU. I didn't make them royalty, instead like modern billionaire royalty. I hope you like it!
> 
> Just as a side note, the random side idea in the Anne of Cleves section is based on a theory I read. Alison Weir posits the theory in one of her books and provides some convincing evidence, even though others think it's a crackpot theory. I thought it made great fiction :)
> 
> Enjoy!!!!!

Catherine dropped a generous tip into the jar as she waited for her latte. It was Harry’s money, so she didn’t think twice about leaving all the cash in her wallet. The barista didn’t notice the amount of cash – easily a couple hundred euro – and Catherine was okay with that. God and the saints didn’t need the barista to notice for her to gain their blessing.

Before stepping onto the street, she wrapped her scarf tightly around her neck, tucking her red curls under the soft wool. The street was crowded with tourists, but Catherine had always loved Madrid at Christmas. She had spent a few holiday weekends here with her mother growing up, when her mother wasn’t in some other country fighting for one of her causes. Though she hadn’t spent many Christmases with her parents before her mother died, she still missed her mother terribly, especially at this time of year. 

She sipped the warm latte as she walked underneath the lights strung between the line of buildings, large circles of gold and silver, blue snowflakes, and green, purple, and red presents hanging overhead, towards the large blue shining Christmas tree in the square. Mary was somewhere in the nearby shops, picking up last minutes gifts for her friends. 

Catherine was lonely. Harry was supposed to meet her and Mary in Madrid, but he called and said he had last minute business back in London. Probably more like drinking and motorcar racing with Charlie Brandon, and then falling into that trollop Anne’s bed. Anne, who worked with Catherine until rumors spread that Harry had fallen in love with her. Anne denied it, said she had never slept with Catherine’s husband, but Catherine knew it was only time. She wouldn’t be the first affair Harry had, nor would she be the last. God would deal with him, but Catherine would keep her marriage vows sacred.

After wandering through the crowded streets, Catherine found herself outside of a small cathedral. She checked her phone – no text from Mary yet – before entering. It was nearly empty, save for a woman leaving the confessional. Catherine sat in a pew near the back, pulled out her rosary, and started to pray.

*

Anne laughed, and felt triumphant when Harry’s face broke into a smile. He joined in her laughter, and she knew that he was in love with her. This was exactly what her father – what she wanted. Harry was gorgeous, fit and tall with deep auburn hair that she loved running her fingers through. This was exactly the kind of marriage that she had wanted her entire life. Harry was rich, richer than even the royal family or prime minister, with private jets and his own island. When she married him, he would make her one of the richest women in the world. But she didn’t plan on being a trophy wife – Anne wanted more than that. She wanted a share in the power, to stand by Harry’s side and help him. She was smart – Oxford graduate, top of her class – from a good family. 

More than that, she knew, was the fact that she was beautiful. Men didn’t care what degrees she had, what her thesis had been, or what important jobs she’d held while at uni. They cared about her long legs, her thick dark hair, and her smile. 

Anne drained her wine glass as Harry’s hand slid up her leg, underneath her the hem of her skirt. She let his hand travel just a bit further before she placed her hand on top of his, stopping it just before he touched her. She wanted it, but she knew that it was her greatest weapon. 

“Harry,” she said, her voice low and seductive.

“Anne, I’m going crazy wanting you,” he breathed into her ear. His lips trailed from the shell of her ear, down her neck. She leaned into it and moaned. His hand started moving towards her lacy underwear, so she pulled away with more force this time. “Why do you tease me so?”

“I told you,” she said, pulling his hand from beneath her skirt and threading their fingers together. She looked into his eyes, and her heart flipped slightly in her chest. “Once we are married, but not until then.”

“The divorce is more complicated than I originally anticipated.”

Anne smiled. “Then we wait.” She reached out and wrapped her hand around his head, pulling him in for a kiss. Her whole body tingled at his touch, and she thought to herself that she may actually be falling in love with Harry Tudor.

*

Jane stood before the baby crib, smiling down at the blankets and stuffed animals, before her eyes swept around the room. She wrapped her arms around her large belly as she looked for the hundredth time at the giraffes, lions, and elephants painted on the walls. 

She had watched Harry and Charlie for almost a week straight painting and fixing the nursery exactly as she envisioned it. It was perfect. She hugged her belly. Edward was going to be perfect, and he was going to be here in a week or so. She couldn’t wait to be a mother. She couldn’t wait for her little family with Harry.

When Jane turned, she started with fright, then laughed. Harry was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his rumpled work shirt, watching her. He was smiling softly, and he looked happy and relaxed. Jane couldn’t get over how much she loved him. She knew he was complicated and slightly broken – one messy, very horrible, very public divorce, and one wife dead under suspicious circumstances – but she couldn’t help how much she loved him. And to her surprise, he loved her. She knew it. She knew it right then, in that very moment, as he watched her.

“You startled me!” she exclaimed. “Don’t sneak up on me like that! You gave me such a fright!”

Harry crossed the room in two steps, and wrapped her in his arms. He dropped kisses all over her face, and then dropped to his knees and kissed her belly. “How’s my little man today?”

“Excited!” Jane replied. “He’s been kicking my insides to no end.”

“Gonna be good at footie,” Harry said as he rubbed her belly. “Maybe go pro.”

“You don’t want him to take over the company?” Jane asked, surprised.

“Mary or Elizabeth could do that if he goes pro.”

Jane laughed. “You’re ridiculous.”

Harry stood, and Jane turned to look at the nursery. Harry wrapped his arms around her and dropped gentle kisses on her hair. Yes, the nursery was perfect. This moment was perfect. Everything was perfect, and Jane couldn’t wait until Edward came. She knew he’d be perfect, too.

*

Anne looked at the stack of boxes in her bedroom suite. She had only lived at Greenwich Estate for a few months. She had married Harry back in January, in the grey dreary winter snows. She knew his taste for young, beautiful women, and Anne knew she wasn’t considered beautiful. She had never thought of herself as ugly, but her features were plainer, her stature larger and broader than the cookie cutter beautiful slim women Harry loved so.

She could have told Harry he was one to talk. He was overweight and could barely get around. He walked with a cane most days due to his ulcerated leg. He blamed her for his lack of erection on their wedding night, but it’s not like she felt any desire for him. She also felt repulsed by him, but she knew better than to say anything. She knew this marriage was only a business exchange – Harry wanted something from her father, and she was the bargaining chip. 

But the marriage was over. Harry had it annulled, and she was leaving. She would be lying if she said that she was upset about the turn of events.

There was a knock at the door, and Anne called out. To her surprise, Harry entered. He looked tired and old today. 

“Hello,” she said politely.

“I want to talk,” he said as he sat down in a large armchair. He grimaced in discomfort, and Anne kept her face blank. He handed her a stack of papers. She glanced down at them and then back at him without reading them. “This secures your future.”

Anne glanced at the papers, confused. “I don’t understand.”

Harry ran a hand over his face. “I like you, Anne. Despite how things turned out, I like you. You’re a nice woman. I enjoy talking to you. The marriage would have never worked, but I’ve come to think of you as a beloved sister.”

Anne nodded. It both stung and was a relief. 

“As part of the annulment, you’ll get a house and enough money to live off for the rest of your life.”

This surprised Anne, and she wasn’t easily surprised. “You…You didn’t have to do this. This is too much, Harry.”

Harry shook his head. “No, it’s the least I could do. You got in the middle of something you should never have been part of. You’re a good woman, Anne Cleves. And it may surprise you, but I want you in my life. I wasn’t lying when I said you were like a sister. You’re welcome at Greenwich Estate whenever you like, and I will make sure to invite you to come visit often.”

Anne perused the papers as she tried to gather her thoughts. “This is…unexpected.”

Harry stood and limped over to Anne. He placed a light kiss on her head. “There’s also money set aside in there for your son, along with a nondisclosure agreement.” Anne looked at Harry, speechless. That…that was the best news she had gotten in almost a year. When Harry had realized she had given birth, as soon as he looked at her naked body on their wedding night, she had been bracing herself for the scandal. No one knew about her son, except her closest maid who helped hide her pregnancy, birth, and took care of the baby after she gave birth to him. Her nursemaid assured her no man would be able to tell the difference. Men didn’t know about these things. But Harry had been with enough women to know the difference between a body that had given birth and one that had not.

But here he was, promising not to reveal her secret. She was so overcome with emotion that she could almost cry. But she kept herself outwardly together.

“Thank you,” she said.

Harry nodded his head and then headed for the door. Before he exited, he said, “Goodbye, Anne. I do hope to see you again soon.”

*

Katherine remembers what it was like to laugh. She remembers nights at Lambeth surrounded by friends, when men would bring her gifts and flirt with her all night. It was harmless fun, teenagers being teenagers. She never thought what she did on those hot summer nights or cold winter evenings would be of any importance.

Katherine never thought she would amount to much. She was her mother’s tenth child, and even though she was from aristocratic bloodlines, her family didn’t have any money. Katherine didn’t grow up wearing fancy dresses or attending boarding schools. She didn’t have manners like a fine lady. But she could take down any scruffy bitch who challenged her. She had been in her fair share of fights, and she had always come out the victor. Her hands knew better how to throw a punch than hold a fork.

And she could laugh. Katherine used to laugh all the time. Even when she married Harry, she thought it was so wonderful, despite his age and appearance. She was only seventeen, and her family so excited that she made such a match as Henry Tudor. Katherine knew she was beautiful, but not beautiful enough to land an influential man like Harry.

(She remembers Henry Mannox telling her she was beautiful, but then how she was ugly and useless when she told him no. He never wanted to accept that she didn’t want to be with him, even after many bad decisions where he was concerned. At least he was handsome. And a good kisser.)

Katherine didn’t laugh around Harry. He was always angry and depressed, about things Katherine had nothing to do with, but she seemed to get blamed for them. At other times, Harry was the most loving, amazing man she could ever hope for, showering her with gifts, showing her off, and calling her his “very jewel.” When he was in a good mood, Katherine laughed. But those moods were scarce.

Now, she holds the letter in her trembling hand. The tears fall freely down her cheeks. Katherine doesn’t know what to do. The letter is blackmail; she knows that much. This one claims that he knew about certain sexual encounters with a man the summer she was sixteen. He wants her to help him get a position in Harry’s company, and Katherine doesn’t know anything about what Harry does.

If Harry found out…

Katherine crumples the letter and throws it into the fire. On nights like these, she misses Thomas. She loved Thomas Culpepper, had loved him with her whole soul. She should have married him, but she had bigger dreams and aspirations, like this marriage to Harry. She had wanted money and fancy clothes and big houses and luxury unlike anything she could imagine. But god, she loved Thomas and she missed him.

If Harry found out…

Katherine wonders if the blackmail letters will ever stop. This was the third. Three different people, with ghosts from her past that will ruin her. Back then, it seemed like so much fun. Kissing and touching at Lambeth, the taste of alcohol on their tongues, the smell of marijuana in the air. But now…now, she only regrets. Katherine regrets everything.

If Harry found out…

*

Catherine ended the meeting. As the board members left, she sat in her chair, feeling proud of what she accomplished today. Harry had gone abroad and left her in charge. The men were surprised when she did more than just act as a ceremonial figurehead. But Catherine had no desire to be a house wife. She had aspirations, goals, and a lot of experience despite her age.

The door to the conference room burst open, and a small red-headed child ran in. “Elizabeth!” the exasperated nanny hissed as the child ran up to Katherine. Elizabeth was wearing a dirty dress, her hair falling from what this morning was more-than-likely neatly braided plaits. There was dirt smeared on Elizabeth’s face, and Catherine smiled as she licked her thumb and reached out to wipe it away.

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” the nanny said. “I tried to keep her in the lobby.”

“But you promised!” Elizabeth insisted. “You promised I could come help you at work today while Papa is away.”

Catherine put a finger to her chin and pretended to think. Elizabeth looked at her impatiently. “I think you might be right, Elizabeth.”

The nanny got Elizabeth looking presentable again while Catherine checked her email. There were some papers she needed to sign on Harry’s behalf, and a few finance reports for her to go over. She would see to those later, maybe even walk Elizabeth through them. It was never too early to learn, and Catherine had already convinced Harry to change his will so that the company would be owned as much by Mary and Elizabeth as by Edward upon his death. She wanted to ensure the futures of the girls as much as Edward.

Catherine took Elizabeth with her as she attended meetings with different men in the company. Elizabeth was quiet and serious through each meeting, acting nothing like the precocious eleven year old Catherine knew her to be. Elizabeth was extremely bright and gifted, but she also liked playing in the grass with her brother Edward or beating her sister Mary at board games.

After the meetings, Catherine took Elizabeth back into Harry’s office and closed the door. “Now Elizabeth, can you tell me what each of those meetings had in common?”

Elizabeth was still as she mulled it over. Finally, she answered, “They were all men.”

Catherine smiled. “Excellent. This is a man’s world, Elizabeth. But you can never let that stop you. You must find your own way.”

“But won’t you and Papa be there to help me?”

“We can hope. You will share this company with your brother and sister one day. And the men will try to take it away from you and Mary, or try to overpower you. Men will always do that to you. They will be intimidated by your power, or be threatened that you are above them. They will claim you are lesser because of your sex. They will try to make you think your worth is based on who you marry or how many children you have.”

Elizabeth’s face scrunched. “You are married to Papa. But you don’t have any children.”

Catherine nodded. “I do not. Maybe one day with your Papa, but it’s okay if I don’t have children. I love my work, my writing,” she paused and reached out a hand to ruffle Elizabeth’s hair, “and you, Mary, and Edward.”

“Do you think I could run the company one day? Really?” Elizabeth asked. “Maybe I will have lots of boyfriends and dress in pretty clothes and wear pretty jewelry and go to big parties. That sounds like fun.”

“I think that sounds like a lot of fun.” Catherine turned to her computer and pointed. “Bring your chair over here, and I’ll show you some of these contracts.”

After the nanny took Elizabeth home, Catherine stayed in the office and finished up the next chapter of her latest book. Her first one was moderately successful, and the editor was looking forward to the follow-up.

She was packing up her briefcase when the phone rang. It was Harry. Good. She was going to call him when she got home, but it was even better that he called her.

“Hi there,” Catherine said into the phone.

“Hello.”

There was silence on the other end, so Catherine took a deep breath. She knew what she had to do.

“I’m glad you called. I’ve been thinking about you all day.”

“You have?”

“Of course, I have. I’m so sorry, Harry, for our argument, for all the things I said.”

“You didn’t sound too sorry the other night.”

Catherine gritted her teeth. She and Harry had been fighting a lot lately; it had gotten pretty bad before he left on this business trip, and they had fought a few times since then. Recently, Catherine had discovered that some people in the company wanted her out of the way, and they were taking advantage of the disagreements between her and Harry.

But Catherine was smart. They were not going to get rid of her that easily. No one was going to take this company from her.

“Honey, do you remember what you said to me earlier that day?” Catherine asked.

“How can I be expected to remember everything I say?” Harry said gruffly. 

Catherine took a deep breath to calm herself. “You were complaining about your leg. You said you had been in so much pain, and that the weather in France was not doing anything for your health. I know how bad it can be, so I only argued with you to take your mind off the pain.”

Harry was silent for a few moments. “Well, it worked. So, how was your day?”

Catherine smiled. Her plan was falling into place.

-fin


End file.
